Report: Egypt’s Morsi ‘studying’ amending Camp David Accords

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is considering amending the Camp David Accords to give Egypt full control over the Sinai, his legal adviser told a national newspaper.

Mohamed Gadallah told the Egyptian Al-Masry Al-Youm that Morsi is "studying" whether to amend the basis for the peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979.

Under the accords, Israel agreed to withdraw its troops and citizens from the Sinai and return it to Egypt in return for normalized relations and a restriction on the number of Egyptian troops allowed to enter the Sinai, particularly near the border with Israel.

Morsi has said several times since taking office that he would respect all international treaties signed by Egypt.

Calls for amending the treaty have increased since last week’s terrorist attack on Egyptian security officers in the Sinai, according to the newspaper.

Israel in recent weeks had tacitly agreed to increased numbers of Egyptian troops in the Sinai.